And they had won on the road ladies and gentlemen. Coach Mingini came into town with no starting quarterback and the loss of a hall of fame running back. It is only one win but a win is always a beautiful thing, laps and all.
(Coach Eric Mangini doesn’t play)
One thing new Jets head coach, Eric Mangini stressed was, “focus.”
That and the fact that errors would not be accepted during play. He so often in the preseason talked about his team constantly doing the wrong thing. A habit he said that they had to both break and stop. And there were the laps, make an error go astray, start running.
There were moans and groans. Keep running. It was said by some that the new coach had the look and feel of Vince Lombardi. He tolerated no mistakes and wanted only the correct fundamentals. The preseason wasn’t a pretty picture, the coach wasn’t a happy camper. No wins, no grins, start running. The practices were hard and long.
It was his way or the highway and whenever there was a wrong way, players took to running on his highway. Heck it’s preseason, isn’t that all about getting into shape? Plus coach wanted his team in shape, mentally too. “Focus.” After the Giant preseason loss, the only positive out of that game was the extended play of Chad Pennington, who showed right then and there he was the starting quarterback, laps and all. His play in Sunday’s game has to be saluted. He has come a long way in a short time showing both his reserve, determination and heart. We all knew he had the skills.
The Jets opening day season victory was two fold. Forget all the talk about all most blowing it. And when is the last time the poor Jets it seems has had a reliable field goal kicker? They jumped out in front. And when the challenge came they met it head on. Ugly wins? I’ve never understood that, like walk off homers. But when the smoked cleared they won. And they had won on the road ladies and gentlemen.
Coach Mingini came into town with no starting quarterback and the loss of a hall of fame running back. It is only one win but a win is always a beautiful thing, laps and all.
Trust*In*GOD*
To subscribe to New York’s favorite Pan-African weekly investigative newspaper please click on “subscribe” on the homepage or call (212) 481-7745. For advertisements or to send us a news tip contact [email protected] “Speaking Truth To Empower,” is our motto.
